Page 3 of Vulindlela and family Travel Blog Posts


Central America Caribbean » Cuba January 17th 2018

Delta had started flights to Havana in December of 2016, however, they did not allow us to travel down as a stand by passenger. Well, this changed on January 10, 2018. I was planning a trip to Antwerp, when I read the news. Of course, I changed my plans. Cuba, to me, has been like a "forbidden fruit". I also wanted to see it before there is a McDonald's and a Starbucks on every corner. The flights were great for stand by, so I booked an Airbnb, and started to research things I wanted to see. On Wednesday January 17, I flew Delta flight 1575 from Indianapolis to Atlanta. I was in Comfort Plus seat 11A on the 737-900 aircraft. My connection to Havana was on Delta 639. I was in first class seat 1B on ... read more
José Martí Memorial
Plaza de la Revolución
Che(muerto)

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin » Dublin October 17th 2017

We awoke early at about 3am. Our flight was not until 10:25am, but I saw that the final Shannon flight had diverted to Dublin the day before due to the storm. It would fly empty to Shannon, and then continue to New York. It had a lot of open seats, so why not try it? It was leaving at 7am. We returned our car hire and went inside the airport to ask. Well, the flight did not have a gate, and was remotely parked. In that case they had no way for us to board it. Oh well, at least we tried. I would have loved to have just slept in longer though instead. The weather today was great. Sunshine and no wind. That was a fast moving storm! We had a quick breakfast at Dublin ... read more

Europe » Ireland » County Clare October 16th 2017

Yes, you read that right. I never in a million years would have guessed that my first hurricane would be experienced in Ireland. I kept humming different "hurricane" tunes in my head, such as Scorpion's "Rock You Like A Hurricane". Our original plan this day was to do a slow and leisurely drive to Dubln, while stopping off at various sites. We were most looking forward to visiting Cashel Rock. Maybe next time. We awoke on time, and were easily on the road by 5am. The winds were still calm and there was a light rain. It felt eery, knowing what was just off shore. The traffic was light and we made great time. When we got near Dublin, the traffic was heavier, but it was moving along fine. It was about 7am. The winds had ... read more

Europe » Ireland » County Clare October 15th 2017

We decided to stay close by this day, and visit the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. Many guide books that we read had said this place is a tourist trap. I do not agree. We thought it was well worth the visit. I would say that it is similar to Colonial Williamsburg in the USA. A great place to see and learn some local customs and history. We awoke about 9am, and had a lovely breakfast provided by our Airbnb host. Their home was very nice. So peaceful, warm, and inviting. We spent several hours wandering the maze that is the Folk Park. After that, we crossed the road to have lunch at the Creamery Bar. I had some more fish and chips with a Guinness. It was good food and service here. After lunch, we ... read more
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

Europe » Ireland » County Clare October 14th 2017

We landed in Shannon2 hours late, but we were first off and cleared customs and immigration quickly. We all headed to the loo, before getting our car hire. While the girls were in there, I glanced over to a gift shop and saw a newspaper, with a headline about a "deadly hurricane". I did not give it a second though, and figured it was about the recent hurricanes in Puerto Rico. We grabbed our car and hit the road! I enjoy driving a standard vehichle, and I also enjoy driving on the left. I had both on this trip. I had driven on the left since 1999 in South Africa, but it is like riding a bike. It looked to be a nice day, which was great since we'd be visiting the Cliffs of Moher. I ... read more
SNN Airport
Cliffs of Moher
Cliffs of Moher

Europe » Ireland » County Clare October 13th 2017

It was time for our Fall Break trip. We had wanted to go to Eastern Europe, but it just did not look good for stand-by travel. Nothing looked good to anywhere really, and to be honest, I was close to giving up and just staying in the States. I saw that both Shannon and Dublin, Ireland looked great for stand-by. We had been to Dublin several years ago, so we chose Shannon, so we could see the Cliffs of Moher. We would later find out why these flights may have been so open. Now we would need to get out of our home city. Gosh, everything was packed! However, I saw that we could get to New York from Louisville, Kentucky which is just 2 hours south of us. I hired a one way car for ... read more
Main course

Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam March 28th 2017

That dreaded day. I find it even more dreaded when we need to wake up at 3:30am. We did wake up on time, and headed out by 4am. The airport bus would pick us up at around 4:45am. It was strange to walk throught the completely deserted Old Town. The bus ride was quick and painless. It was chilly in the air, but the skies were clear. Checking in at DBV airport was simple. At 6:15am, we were off to Zagreb on Croatia Airlines flight 661. It was an A-319 aircraft and was a smooth flight. We were seated in row 24, seats D,E,F. Our connection in Zagreb was about 1 hour. I really want to visit Zagreb, so it was tought to just transit here. The new airport terminal is very nice and modern! At ... read more
Appetizers
Cod meal
DL 127, AMS-BOS

Europe » Croatia » Dalmatia » Dubrovnik March 27th 2017

Mostar? Nope. Here is the deal: It is low season. Great for no crowds and no heat. Not so great for some things, like tours. We had booked a shared tour for 3 to Mostar for $170. We would depart Dubrovnik at 7am, and be back at about 6pm. Well, they did not have enough bookings, so they canceled the tour. We knew this was a risk of low season. Funny thing is they offered to give us the same tour privately for three times the price. No thanks. They also offered a tour to Kotor instead of Mostar, but I just had not researched Kotor so we declined. We did get our money back of course. I looked into going to Mostar by bus on our own for the day, but it was not possible. ... read more
Lokrum Island
Lokrum Island
Lokrum Island

Europe » Croatia » Dalmatia » Dubrovnik March 26th 2017

The weather forecast said the rain would begin just after noon, so we headed out early. We went to Fort Lovrijenac first. It was no charge for us since we had our wall tickets. That is how it works, but you have to visit within 24 hours after your wall visit. There were a lot of stairs leading up to the fort, but the views made it all worth it. We were alone at first and then 4 others came. That was it. Seven of us total at this massive fort! We probably spent an hour or so up there, before heading down. It was still early enough that the rain had not yet begun. So, we decided to take a city bus to Lapad. This is a restaurant lined pedestrian street that leads to a ... read more
Old Town
Fort Lovrijenac harbor
Fort Lovrijenac harbor

Europe » Croatia » Dalmatia » Dubrovnik March 25th 2017

The old town of Dubrovnikis surrounded by a wall. For a fee, you can climb to the top of this wall and walk around it's entirety. First, I was sort of turned off that you had to pay to do this, but after doing so, I think it is 100% worth it. Your ticket also gets you into the Fort Lovrijenac, which is another must see. We awoke early today, in order to be on time for our free tour that was to begin at 9am, from the tourist office. The tour was a walking tour, given by Maja, a local of Dubrovnik. The tour was through the old city, and lasted 1 hour. It was mostly stories about the Homeland War in the 1990s. I found it fascinating to learn of more of the recent ... read more
Old Town
Old Town
Banje Beach




Tot: 0.223s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 10; qc: 91; dbt: 0.0948s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb